British West Africa

British West Africa (1758-1960) was the collective name for Great Britain's colonies in West Africa, which were The Gamibia, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Nigeria.

History
Britain's British East India Company had set up shops in West Africa in the early 1700s, but their first base was established in Senegal in 1758 when they captured the French settlement of Saint-Louis during the Seven Years' War. The company was forced to retreat from Senegal in 1783 after the French recaptured the colony in the American Revolutionary War. Afterwards, Britain was driven out of Africa, but in 1821 they returned and colonized the Gold Coast. They exported ivory and gold from the region, as well as spice, silk, and peanuts, and Britain took over most of the rest of Africa from the natives. The West African set of colonies was under their control until Nigeria finally declared independence in 1960, the last of their possessions to do so.